Gore: It's Time to Eliminate Electoral College for Popular Vote

Former Vice President Al Gore thinks the Electoral College should be eliminated, arguing the "balancing act" with the popular vote "has shifted."

In an interview posted by NBC News on Tuesday, Gore – who lost the contested election to George W. Bush in 2000 despite winning the popular vote – said he did not doubt the Electoral College system at the time.

"After the Supreme Court decision in 2000, I continued to support the Electoral College because the original purpose was to tie the states together," he said.

"I have changed my view on that. I do think it should be eliminated."

"I think moving on to a popular vote system is not without peril and problems," he added. "It's not a simple one choice is all good and the other is all bad. It's a balancing act. But I think the balance has shifted, in my mind at least, and I think that we should go to a popular vote."

But he said he now believes relying on the popular vote "would stimulate public participation in the democratic process like nothing else we could possibly do."

President-elect Donald Trump defeated Hillary Clinton in the Electoral College this year, even though Clinton got more than 2 million more votes overall.

"Our democracy's been hacked now. It's pathetic how our system is not working today," Gore said.

"And I think that moving to a popular vote for president would be one of the initiatives, getting money out of the process, which is another difficult challenge, but if we could do three or four things that could bring our democracy back to life and help us to make good decisions again."

In 2012, The Hill reported Gore making similar comments, asserting many voters who live outside the battleground states are cheated by the system.